Faegheh Atashin (Persian: Fāeqe Ātaŝin - فائقه آتشین‎, Azerbaijani: Faiqə Atəşin) born on 5 May 1950 in Tehran), also known by her stage name Googoosh (Persian: Guguš - گوگوش‎, Azerbaijani: Ququş), is an Iranian Azerbaijani singer and actress. She is known for her contributions to Iranian pop music, but also starred in a variety of movies from the 1950s to the 1970s.[1] She achieved the pinnacle of her fame and success towards the end of the 1970s. Her overall impact and contributions to Middle Eastern and Central Asian pop-music earned her the title of the most iconic female pop-singer from those regions.[2] She has recorded songs in Italian and in Spanish. Due to her great talents and overall endearment to her people, she is a symbol of national pride to the people from Iran.

Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, she is famously known for remaining in Iran until 2000 and not performing again due to the ban on female singers. Still, her following grew. Younger people have rediscovered her music via bootleg recordings.[3] Outside of Iran, she has a significant following in many Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries, and has even caught the attention of western media and press.[4] Her most recent projects include a new collaboration with singer/songwriter Hassan Shamaizadeh for the track Hayahoo from her last album Ejaz, as well as serving as head judge and head of academy for the popular reality show Googoosh Music Academy which is broadcast on London based satellite channel Manoto 1.

Googoosh (Faegheh Atashin), began singing and acting at a young age with her father, Saber, during the 1940s

According to her website, Googoosh was born Faegheh Atashin on 5 May 1950[5] in Sarcheshmeh Street of Tehran to parents Nasrin and Saber Atashin who were originally Azerbaijani immigrants from the USSR.[6][6][7] She began doing impersonations of some of the singers of the time while being taken on the road with her father.[8] When her father discovered this talent, he put her on stage at the age of three and she was from then on a professional paid performer.[8]

4 year old Googoosh with her mother Nasrin Atashin

During the 1970s Googoosh began a meteoric rise to fame and success as she drove the edge of Iranian pop music further and further. Known for her flamboyant outfits and fashion sense, Googoosh wowed her pop culture hungry fans in Iran and abroad with her trademark hairdos and hip-elegant style. Iranian women changed hairdos with Googoosh and she was always one step ahead of them with a new look. Her music ranged from upbeat 1960s and 70s pop, given a Persian-tinged edge, to declamatory, emotional ballads dealing with love and loss, which at times edge towards chanson and Piaf territory. She starred in over 25 movies, one of which was to be the most commercially successful Iranian motion picture of all time prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Googoosh had performed many times for the Royal Family and was a favorite of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's wife and children and performed at the party given for the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi's Birthday in 1977.[9]

At the time of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Googoosh was in Los Angeles; however, feeling homesick, she decided to return to Iran. After the revolution, Googoosh, like other artists, had been forbidden from performing and her material had been banned. She would not perform again until Mohammad Khatami’s presidency, during which she was allowed to tour outside of the country. In the time she was unable to perform, she kept herself occupied at home by taking care of her house and reading. Whereas she had no intentions of leaving Iran, she adapted to her new life. It is a famous question among Iranians of how Googoosh, who had been a performer all of her life cope not performing under the Islamic Republic .

In 2000, a feature-length documentary called Googoosh: Iran's Daughter was released which chronicled the singer's life and her icon-status while detailing the socio-political turmoil that led to the 1979 Revolution in Iran. Made by Iranian-American filmmaker Farhad Zamani, the documentary began production in 1998 and was made at a time when Googoosh was still forbidden to give interviews.[citation needed]

In January 2009 she ended her work and career with Mehrdad Asemani, citing "creative differences" and in March 2009 began a new work relationship with her current management team. On 21 and 24 March of that year, during the Nowruz holiday, Googoosh performed in Dubai. This concert was considered a homecoming for her and thousands of Iranians crossed the Persian Gulf to hear her.[10]

Googoosh and other speakers participated in a 22 July 2009 protest at the United Nations which attracted exiles from Iran. There they stood in front of a banner with names of Iranian protestors that they believed were still incarcerated and the names of other protestors, written in red, who had been killed. During this protest, Googosh made a speech stating that she entered politics because of the outcome of the Iranian presidential election, 2009. She said, "I have come here to be the voice for the sad mothers who lost their loved ones in peaceful demonstrations. I have come here to be the just voice of the grass-roots and spontaneous movement among my compatriots and to show my solidarity."[11]

Since 2010 she has and continues to serve as head-of-academy and head-judge alongside Hooman Khalatbari and Babak Saidi for the widely popular reality game show/singing competition Googoosh Music Academy which is broadcast on the London based Iranian satellite channel Manoto 1 and is their most watched program.[12] In December 2010, Googoosh had a very notable concert in the Kurdish region of Iraq and Iran. Tens of thousands of Iranians came from Tehran and beyond.

In March 2011, the popstar released a snippet via YouTube of a new song she was working on titled "Bedrood". In April 2011, Googoosh debuted her latest project. The singer launched her own cosmetic collection sold online, aptly titled "Googoosh Cosmetics". In April 2011 she held a legendary concert at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, CA as well as a record breaking performance at the same venue on October 27, 2012, as a part of her worldwide "Ejaz" Tour.[13] Also on March 26, 2013 she performed at London's famous Royal Albert Hall for the first time,[14] where other notable Persian vocalists such as Elaheh, Ebi and Marzieh have performed memorable concerts in the past.

In 2012 she released her 6th studio album since her comeback, titled Ejaz. The album consisted of 10 tracks, featuring collaborations with famous Iranian singer/songwriter Hassan Shamaizadeh (“Hayahoo“) and two songs wherein she collaborates with her fellow judge Babak Saidi and show host Raha Etemadi from The Googoosh Music Academy ("Nagoo Bedrood" and "Noghteye Payan"). Another single "Bi Manoto" was a musical rendition of a poem by famous Persian poet Molana (Rumi). The poem came to Googoosh' attention during her years banned from singing at the time of the Iran–Iraq War. She felt inspired by the lyrics and therefore created her own melody and was finally presented with the opportunity to record it as she had always wanted during the production of the album.[15]

In February 2014, she released a video in support of the gay, and lesbian, community in Iran, which faces significant challenges in it struggle for equal rights, including the ongoing threat of the death penalty for being convicted of being lesbian, and gay.[16] This made her the first prominent Iranian with a huge following to speak out against homophobia in Iran, the video has sparked discussion about issue affecting Iran's LGBT communities.[16]

Googoosh tours sporadically, making occasional concert stops all over the globe. While not touring, she spends time on new work projects or with her family.

1971: first prize and golden record at the Midemtrade fair in Cannes for her 7" record (as "Gougoush") featuring two songs in French: "Retour de la Ville" (A-side) and "J'entends Crier Je T'aime" (B-side).[17][18]

Googoosh's first husband was Mahmoud Ghorbani. He was a music promoter who had helped Googoosh make a name for herself throughout the '60s. They married in February 1967.[20] They had a son, Kambiz,[20] who currently lives in Los Angeles and who is also in the music industry. After about six years of marriage, Ghorbani and Googoosh divorced in late 1972.[20]

In 1975, Googoosh married Iranian actor Behrouz Vossoughi.[20] They divorced fourteen months later, in 1976. During their brief marriage they were considered to be the country's biggest celebrity power couple.

During the late 1970s, Googoosh became involved with Homayoun Mestaghi, but after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Googoosh served a three-month jail sentence because she was living with him outside of marriage, which was illegal under the Islamic regime.[citation needed] Several years later in 1985, Googoosh divorced Mestaghi. She then married director Masoud Kimiai in 1991.[20] They divorced[20] in 2003.[21]

Googoosh is rumored to reside in a four-bedroom, four-bath home in Beverly Crest (a neighborhood of Los Angeles), which she bought for $1.37 million from Jack M. Snyder and Stephanie E. Snyder on 13 April 2011.[22]

Googoosh also acted in two other movies: Märd-e keraye-i (مرد کرایه ای) and Haci Feyruz (حاجی فیروز), but the production of each of these films was suspended during the final stages for unknown reasons. Googoosh has also acted in many television shows and ground-breaking commercials in Iran.